About the Song

Track: I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You

Length: 3:54

Album: Closing Time (1973)

Artist: Tom Waits

Songwriter: Tom Waits

Favorite line: 

“Well the night does funny things inside a man  / These old tomcat feelings you don’t understand”

Favorite verse: 

“Well I turn around to look at you

You’re nowhere to be found

I search the place for your lost face

Guess I’ll have another round

And I think I just fell in love with you”

© BMG Rights Management

Here’s Why I Love It

All right, I know. I’ve been sharing a lot of lovey-dovey songs. But love is such a primal feeling. We all know what it feels like, whether it’s with a partner, family member, or a pet. Love is love. It’s why we’re so pulled to art about love. Songs, movies, and books—doesn’t matter. And I love love because it has that universal appeal while remaining so deeply personal. This song does not let us down. It’s an amazingly written little tale. The story gets me every damn time.

Here you have an embattled man who sees a woman across from him in a crowded bar. They exchange glances, but he doesn’t say anything. Each time he looks over at her, his perspective changes slightly. He doesn’t want to fall in love. He’s probably had a few bad experiences. But all these little opportunities present themselves. “You light a cigarette / I wish I had the guts to bum one / But we've never met.” 

As the night fades, the big opportunity presents itself. The guy next to her has left. It’s just her sitting there. But will he seize the opportunity? He looks over one final time...but poof, she’s gone. Now he’s searching for her, and he soon realizes that what he didn’t want has just happened. He’s fallen in love with her.

This song represents that dance between “Should I say something?” and “Should I say nothing?” And everything that’s built up in that moment. The loneliness you walked in with. The chance you might be rejected. The awkwardness of waiting too long. All the while, time and space provide the backbone for desire. The cat n’ mouse. The chase. It’s exciting and damaging at the same time. I guess I’ve been there a few times over the years. Maybe not this exact story, but do the specifics even matter? It’s the feeling we relate to. And we’ve all had that feeling.

Listen to song and read the lyrics for full effect.

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*This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.